GLS - ARABIC LINGUIST PAY CUTS

these guys have contracts and GLS has been paid for them already. and the scare tactics they are using to force these people to sign new contracts are not only unethical, they border on illegal! these are brave citizens serving our country and they have been screwed from the beginning from these guys. for instants--did you know during a 7 week period of processing and training one guy got paid a total of $358. and he has a family to care for!!! now his family suffers every day because of the lies and misrepresentations of these companies! his credit was ruined and his family is still trying to dig out of a huge hole and to make matters worse---their husband and father are not here. and they live everyday with the knowledge that they may never see him again. all i can say is THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPECT AND APPRECIATION FOR THESE CITIZENS! what a joke! i recommend no one ever falls for these scams and i pray no one ever considers serving as a linquist or any other type of contractor for these companies. i pray this abuse makes the national news in a big way soon

I am still in the middle of the process of getting hired by GLS,have not been to virginia yet but done with the midecal and the language test ,my question is are they still hiringArabic linquist or they stopped hiring please verify.thanks

HAZEM in Birmingham, Alabama said: I am still in the middle of the process of getting hired by GLS,have not been to virginia yet but done with the midecal and the language test ,my question is are they still hiringArabic linquist or they stopped hiring please verify.thanks

Hazem - to my understanding, they are still hiring - don't let the pay cut discourage you. A well qualified linguist can make a difference. It is not always abut the money. Selfless service and Honor are priceless.

i would say this is a ploy to postpone you going to virginia. one guy who went to virginia was sent home a because they said he didn't pass a stress test they gave him for his heart so they said he had to be seen by his doctor. his doctor told him that it wasn't that he didn't pass the stress test (and his is perfectly fine) but that the doctor in virginia didn't keep him on the treadmill long enough to get a reading. this was done so that they could delay this guys training because they were backed up with other liquists and couldn't get all of them processed. as far as background checks go----on guy has a cat 3 clearance and has been waiting for his cat 4 for over a year. he had his final interview for the cat 4 about 12 months ago and still no word. i would not believe a word these people tell you to be honest. i'm sorry, it all sounds good but truthfully it is far from it. and you will not make anywhere near what they say you will. they say around $190k no way more like $150k and it is not all tax free, only the first $80k so be very careful!!!

desertrose in Madison, Alabama said: Hazem - to my understanding, they are still hiring - don't let the pay cut discourage you. A well qualified linguist can make a difference. It is not always abut the money. Selfless service and Honor are priceless.

all linquist get the same pay. the only difference is if their security clearance is higher or in the past the length of time they were employed as a linquist. that is changing with the new contract all linquists get the same pay no matter how good you are or how long you have been a linquist. just think they are cutting linquists that have been in iraq for five years pay by more than $70k a year. would you accept that sort of pay cut???? or are they saying these people's lives aren't worth much???? trust me, it isn' a cake walk over there.

HAZEM in Birmingham, Alabama said: I am still in the middle of the process of getting hired by GLS,have not been to virginia yet but done with the midecal and the language test ,my question is are they still hiringArabic linquist or they stopped hiring please verify.thanks

hazem---read my comments. i know these things first hand. i will be more than happy to let you know anything i know. you need to make an informed decision, especially since this is a huge and far impacting decision for you and your family.

Hi all you doing,
First of all I would like to say that I used to work for L3 in Baghdad rahter in entire Iraq for more than five year now I am stateside and I am trying to get job with GlS. I called the representative of GLS and his answer was sorry we stopped processing the green card holders sit and wait this is what GLS trying to tell me. I am really work needed and I do not know how long takes them to call me back. I know this is not going to work but I have nothing to do just like they said sit and wait.

i'm sorry to hear what they are doing to you. i know this is a difficult time for you and your family. if you look at my name you will probably see that you may have worked with my husband in iraq. i know he just received an email from his site manager wanting him to sign a new contract with a pay cut by this weekend. i hope he doesn't sign it. i pray the whole thing with the linquistsunited organization will help. did you know about them? they are forming a group for the linquists and are in the process of filing lawsuits against GLS. check them out if you can.

Thanks for the useful info. you have been providing. Quick question - do you know the actual amount of the pay cut and how is it affecting the bonuses? Is it the same for Cat 1 & Cat 2? Any details you can give would be most appreciated.
Thanks again.

as far as i know all the linquist will have their pays cut to the same amount. from what i understand they are trying to cut the hardship and harzard pay from 35% to 25% and the bonuses will be cut from $15,000 retainer bonus to $10,000. and that bonus is every six months they are in theater. i know they first said that vacation time taken would count towards time for the bonuses but that is not true. any time out of theater is not counted as part of that six months. so the cut is really substantial when all is said and done.

laine khoury in Lake Mary, Florida said: as far as i know all the linquist will have their pays cut to the same amount. from what i understand they are trying to cut the hardship and harzard pay from 35% to 25% and the bonuses will be cut from $15,000 retainer bonus to $10,000. and that bonus is every six months they are in theater. i know they first said that vacation time taken would count towards time for the bonuses but that is not true. any time out of theater is not counted as part of that six months. so the cut is really substantial when all is said and done.

Thanks so much for your quick reply. I really appreciate the information you have provided. It is very helpful-not only for myself, but I am sure to a lot of others who are reading this. Thanks again!

how much does GLS pay its perspective employees once they go to VA for two weeks, also how much they usually spend at home before they are called for deployment, and how much they are paied right before they leave the States? please let me know. I hope you all a good luck.

I am not sure if they even still hiring.I am in the middle of the process passed all tests and medicals but they keep rescheduling me to go to Virgnia .I really think that they are not going to contunie with those who have not made to Virgnia.since the US Army is pulling out anyway.What do you think?

as far as what you are paid in virginia---i don't know if it has changed but before you were NOT paid anything. they paid for your hotel and gave you $30 a day to eat on. from there if all is well you go to a military base for a few weeks and get paid at the rate of $80,000per year. once your go to theater you get paid at the same rate but you also get hazard and hardship pay. right now that would be 25% each. you also should get a bonus every six months (this is in theater time only) that is $10,000. remember if you take vacation time you must make that time up for your bonus. for example if you are in theater 5 months and then go on vacation for one month you must come back and work 2 more months to receive your bonus. one guy i know that has been there for two plus years and is a cat III made $155,000 the first year and $150,000 the second. no where near the $178,000 to $198,000 he was promised. and remember they can send you home before you go to theater for as long as they need. they have no concern for you. and once there---the contract is at will-with GLS having all the rights to terminate at their discretion. be very weary of anything they tell you. let's just say they screwed this guy up so bad that his credit score went for the high 700's to 500 in less than 4months. his family got paid a whopping $274.00 for 3 1/2 months. less than a kid flipping burgers on a weekend would have made. if your family can survive on that kind of money for 5-6 months go for it, otherwise think twice

hazem--are you a us citizen or green card holder. if you are a green card holder--they are not hiring anymore. if you are a us citizen the reason they may not have called you yet is because of a pending lawsuit against them filed on behalf of the linquist already working in iraq.

laine khoury in Lake Mary, Florida said: hazem--are you a us citizen or green card holder. if you are a green card holder--they are not hiring anymore. if you are a us citizen the reason they may not have called you yet is because of a pending lawsuit against them filed on behalf of the linquist already working in iraq.

i am a us citizen i was scheduled to go to Virginia in February,THEN IT WAS RESCHEULED FOR mAY THEN FOR October. i don't know do you think it is because too many of us and not too many openings

they said that there are ppl who have been waiting since january and february of 08 to come for their 2 weeks processing in virginia . but the funny thing id didn't they know that when they scheduled me for february and once more for may or it is just all of a sudden they remembered those who have been waiting since january and february ,something doesn't click here. by the way do you know what goes on during these two weeks in virgnia,2 weeks is a long time to process someone who they ha=ve been perocessing for 6 months

honestly it sounds like they are giving you the runaround for whatever reason. i do not for one moment believe that many qualified people have been waiting since for a year or more to process. it sounds to me like they are having some sort of internal issues. during the two week processing in virginia they go through your clearance application and you interview with fbi agents and military officials about your clearance application. as far as i know they have their own doctor give you a complete physical and of course there is lots of training involved. this is a very intense and thorough process. they go over everything---all your relatives including in-laws. their birth dates, if they are deceased or not, what they do for a living, do they have any criminal background. they also go over any and all times you have traveled outside the usa including canada and mexico. what were the dates,why did you go. who did you see. who went with you. and on and on. they also check out anyone you associate with or have associated with. they want their names, addresses, phone numbers, how you know them ect. they go over your credit report, your driving record, any criminal record, any civil cases you may have been involved with. and on and on. and then they go over why you want to work with them. like i said very intense. then you if all is well you will go on to a military base to be trained by them. things like what to do if someone needs medical attention. how to recognize a possible IED. how to recognize a dead body. and what to do with it. what to say and what not to say. all military procedures and regulations and you get a series of shots. you get all your equipment and then you get briefed on your actual assignment. it is a very involved and long process when you get there

Thanks Laine for your input and help. I would like also to mention that I only have been waiting for n answer from GLS since Nov of 08. I was told last weel that I will be scheduled to go to Virginia sometime this week, but I haven't heard from them yet.

hbensami@gmail.com in Minneapolis, Minnesota said: Thanks Laine for your input and help. I would like also to mention that I only have been waiting for n answer from GLS since Nov of 08. I was told last weel that I will be scheduled to go to Virginia sometime this week, but I haven't heard from them yet.

i would say if you haven't heard from then by now,you probably aren't going this week. i wish i knew exactly what is going on inside gls headquarters but i don't. what i do know is that these people have done things that have bordered on criminal and they certainly are having problems because of it. as far as us pulling out of iraq soon, i wouldn't bet my paycheck on it. i think you will find we will be there for very long time still.

i think you should call your contact at gls and demand a straight forward answer from them and they do not give you one---i would seriously reconsider joining them.

please everyone remember on huge fact----if you go to a place like iraq or Afghanistan, your very life depends on the people you work for and with. although you would be able to depend on a soldier to guard you with their very lives----i don't think this company would be there to defend you or help you in anyway. they obviously feel their linquists are the bottom of the barrel and very dispensable. just think about that for a moment. you will be in a hostile foriegn country, who will you depend on if things go horribly wrong? who will your families have to deal with in your absence? or in a time of crisis? do you feel they would be well taken care of by gls? believe me--they won't be. i know from experience.

Hello to all who are asking question about GLS.
I am a linguist right now in Iraq, I am a GLS linguists. as far as I know GLS is not taking anymore Green Card holder. They dont want CATI, they need only CATII and CATIII. I do not advice you to go with GLS at all, I bet they will lose the contract soon, we are fighting for to get their ass out of the SINTCOM Contract. They are treating us here like Animals, They are cutting our Salaries, I will be loosing more than $60,000. There is not more good Bonuses, we used to get $15,000. now only $10,000. and after that every six months we will get $5,000. Do you think we are worth only that???? It is totally not safe here in Iraq. They are cutting the hardship and the hazadr from 35% that State department applies to 25%. I rather be home with my family than make a few bucks here. now CAT I will be making $108,000. CAT II $129,000. CAT III $175,000. You can find a better job with FBI and CIA if you are a citizen as an Arabic Linguists, than come here and put yourself at risk from Rocket and Mortars that we get daily.
I DO NOT advice you to apply with GLS. They are Thieves and Crooks.

www.missionep.com/join.html ) I sent all of my information to Daniel Kwon and had gotten an email back from him telling me that he does not have any openings at this time........and that he would email me if there were something......now I'm reading that he is still recruiting...........why keep someone's hopes up, why not just be straight forward with them. I was shocked to read this as of one day ago and he emailed me about 3 weeks ago.

Is this true about US linguists having to pay Iraqi tax--or is it only the Iraqis who are working for GLS that have to pay? I also heard something about Social Security-how can US linguists have to pay that? Some of the articles make it sound like only the Iraqis have to pay, and others make it sound like it's ALL liguists (like the Anderson Cooper article). This is confusing. Maybe Laine or someone who is over there can tell us?
Thanks!

only the iraqi linquists have to pay taxes to the iraqi government. but all linquist that are from the usa have to pay social security taxes along with medicare taxes. only the first $80,000 a year is tax exempt from federal taxes. after that federal taxes also must be paid on the remaining amount made in any given year.

I'm interested in doing this......but I'm skeptical because I'm hearing that some of these jobs are scams. Daniel Kwon emailed me and told me that he would contact me when something comes up.....he's with a company called mission? Is age a factor? I'm 61. I speak arabic fluently, but have trouble reading and writing because I came to this country when I was 13 years old and haven't used it since.......do you have any suggestions on how to get into this? I retired after 33 years at Ford.

HAZEM in Birmingham, Alabama said: I am still in the middle of the process of getting hired by GLS,have not been to virginia yet but done with the midecal and the language test ,my question is are they still hiringArabic linquist or they stopped hiring please verify.thanks

I signed on with L-3 in 2007 and later in April 2008 was forced like all others to be transitioned to GLS,few things I can tell you:GLS took us and matched the pay up untill now/Jan.2009,they are threatening to sign the new contract for ca.$30,000.00 less,that is one,2nd.they are realy realy disorganized to a point that they paid CAT I as CAT II and vise versa for months,if you get underpaid or your settlement is short,by the time you get paid you will not have any teeth left.Other than that you realy deal with the forces not so much with GLS.They are like all former companies no better not worse but less organized and personal in headquarters are nice to be honest and helpful.

what gls is doing to the linguists in iraq borders on criminal. i hope you know about the group that has been formed called linquistsunited that is working with attorneys to fight gls and what they are doing to you all. please stay strong and do not let them rob you of what is legally and morally yours. too many have lost too much already. good luck in your future

What is a basic day like over there! I'm interested in getting involved, but, am finding it hard to get a straight answer as to what it is that a typical day is like for the linguist. Is the pay as good as they say, or are there loop holes? Do you go away for a full year, or do you have the opportunity to come home mid year for a break? So many questions.......I came here to this country with my family at age 13 and am 61 now.....and retired. This would be perfect for me, but, I'm not really that good at the reading and the writing of the language, but, I speak it fluently. I am a Christian, and came from Ramallah.

Terry in Brunswick, Ohio said: What is a basic day like over there! I'm interested in getting involved, but, am finding it hard to get a straight answer as to what it is that a typical day is like for the linguist. Is the pay as good as they say, or are there loop holes? Do you go away for a full year, or do you have the opportunity to come home mid year for a break? So many questions.......I came here to this country with my family at age 13 and am 61 now.....and retired. This would be perfect for me, but, I'm not really that good at the reading and the writing of the language, but, I speak it fluently. I am a Christian, and came from Ramallah.

Sit,
if you dont read it or write it, you can get this job, because you will need to translate documents and you have to know how to type in arabic too. so this job is not for you if you dont know how to write or read Arabic.
also if you are 61 years old, I dont think it is the right the job for you, you will have to go on mission and sometimes you have to work more than 12 hours a day and you have to wear body armor and Cavlar and they are very very heavy. So enjoy your retirement better than be with GLS.

laine khoury in Lake Mary, Florida said: these guys have contracts and GLS has been paid for them already. and the scare tactics they are using to force these people to sign new contracts are not only unethical, they border on illegal! these are brave citizens serving our country and they have been screwed from the beginning from these guys. for instants--did you know during a 7 week period of processing and training one guy got paid a total of $358. and he has a family to care for!!! now his family suffers every day because of the lies and misrepresentations of these companies! his credit was ruined and his family is still trying to dig out of a huge hole and to make matters worse---their husband and father are not here. and they live everyday with the knowledge that they may never see him again. all i can say is THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPECT AND APPRECIATION FOR THESE CITIZENS! what a joke! i recommend no one ever falls for these scams and i pray no one ever considers serving as a linquist or any other type of contractor for these companies. i pray this abuse makes the national news in a big way soon

look all, please understand there are several companye hiring other than GLS i have been working with tiitan then L3 and now GLS but never been so discriminated as i have been by GLS. please hear me out and look at other companies unless you dont care if they F**** with you any way they wish. best regards to all.

look all, please understand there are several companye hiring other than GLS i have been working with tiitan then L3 and now GLS but never been so discriminated as i have been by GLS. please hear me out and look at other companies unless you dont care if they F**** with you any way they wish. best regards to all.

when did you have your medicals/language tests done?
i applied in september and got tests done and still waiting they schheduled me to go to virginia for the 2 weeks training in feb,then they changed to may and finally to october.
are u a US citizen?if you are then it is cat 2 if they still hiringif you here on a green card then it is cat.3

njman in East Orange, New Jersey said: hazem hi
thanks for your reply, do u mean they scedualed you for october 2009 or last october ??

if next october then this is madness !!!!!!!!!!!
they dont take green cards any more hamza, iam a citizen, and another thing do we have to give away our ((arabic )) passport ??

i recieved a copy of my medical test results in november 13 -2008

THAT WAS OCTober of 2009.i think as the us army pulling out of iraq they don't want to hire any more arabic linquist they already have several hundreds in iraq i think thy are done with ppl like me and you and they also will try to lay off some linqust in iraq who was your recrutir in GLS mine was maryam wackman and tami vandame

this means there is no hope with GLS, do u know any alternative ???
i've been googling for ever and i couldnt find any hope.

one of the users listed few companies and i googled all of them, so frustrating i thought i could wait few months, but its been 6 months so far, and i dont think my budget can handle any longer.

i got rid of most of my aprtment contents here and sold my coin collection for almost half price, my cameras........ this is madness
what do u think

my recruiter is S. Mohamad

i started looking for other employment other than arabic linquist because my loss is great too.
as for other employment as an arabic linquist with other companies within the us just forget it they are looking for things that most of ppl don't don't have ,like top security and things like that

hazem in birmingham, Alabama said: i started looking for other employment other than arabic linquist because my loss is great too.
as for other employment as an arabic linquist with other companies within the us just forget it they are looking for things that most of ppl don't don't have ,like top security and things like that[/QUOTE
they even don't have the odeystey to tell us that they will not be hiring any more they just left us hanginig

sorry to hear all the run around you guys have gotten from gls. i truly believe gls is trying to lay low because a $100million lawsuit that has been filed against them by the linquists currently employed by them and working in iraq. like i have been saying from the beginning---this company is no good. even the linquists that are working for them are treated like dirt. they cut the pays substantially and threatened to fire any linquists that didn't sign a revised contract allowing them to do so. the state dept. sets the percentage of hazard and hardship pay and even though the state dept has the hazard and hardship pay at 35% each, gls cut it down to 25%. their reasoning is that iraq is not as dangerous as it was. tell that to the family of the linquist that was killed last week. i'm sure they would be happy to hear that. i know it is difficult but i truly believe you guys would be much better off finding other jobs. this company is not worth it. you will lose alot more before you ever get anything in return. i am counting the days till my husband will no longer be employed with them and he will be home. and so is he!!!

i heard from iraq, that a lot of GLS employees are quiting, i think one if the users here mentiond the cut is around $50 000, thats alot of money, the truth i dont know what to do, i told u i got rid of most my belongings and i shipped some of my cameras to overseas and lost some of them, on top of that all the headaches you can imagine, its bad.

thanks for your input, it helped a lot, what other companies that still in need of transaltors ??
and iam realy sorry to hear that your husbond is not happy there, its sad to work while not happy with the employer, and iam sadened by the death of another translator in iraq.

I have noticed several negative comments posted by Joe, Quit Crying and other people to which I would like to respond today. I can not talk on behalf of all Linguists, so I will only talk about my experience here in Iraq. I was hired by SOS as a CAT II linguist with an annual salary of $87,000. I was assigned to work with an EOD company in Al-Ramadi – Al-Anbar which was one of the most dangerous areas of Iraq. Although we were not trained as soldiers, we lived the soldiers’ life; we ate MRE as they did, we slept in the open on the floor as they did, we suffered from the heat and the cold as they did, we risked our lives as they did and we faced death on a daily basis as the did. I was the first and last linguist ever assigned to an EOD company in Al-Ramadi. I survived 7 road-side bombs, 3 car bombs, 1 motorcycle bomb, 2 suicide bombers and countless number of mortars and rockets that never changed my mind about our mission in Iraq. While fully armored convoys were very cautious driving through the city of Al-Ramadi, I did on-foot patrol with my unit in downtown Al-Ramadi not worrying about anything but just focusing on how much I could help my unit. At the end of 2003, other companies came to Iraq and started to recruit linguists within Iraq. I was contacted by SM Consultant that offered me an annual salary of $192,000 which was triple the money I was making at that time. I turned down the offer because I felt obligated to abide by the contract I signed with SOS even with one third of what the other company was offering. I worked with two EOD companies in Al-Ramadi for almost a year before I volunteered to work with SF (back then you had to volunteer to work with SF) when I was assigned to work with an SF Team in the Red Zone where I worked for two years before I was moved to RPC where I worked with a total of eleven SF Teams till I left Iraq on 08 February 2009. I believed in the US Army mission in Iraq and wanted to be part of it. I never felt threatened even when